Who Am I?

Currently, I am earning my Bachelor’s degree in Education at the University of Calgary (2022). I earned my first Bachelor’s degree (honours with distinction) in Political Science and Psychology from Queen’s University (2016). 

My professional experience has included:

• 7 years in social work, working with Calgary’s most vulnerable homeless population. My main role involved helping transition over 50 individuals out of homelessness and helping maintain their health and housing. 
• Working as a Junior Professional Consultant for the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in Indonesia, helping create a reintegration program for terrorist prisoners.
• Planning a 10-week Mental Health workshop for 45 students at Explore Canada (Government of Canada program)
• Delivering over 30 presentations on mental health to junior high, high school and University students
• Conducting research in clinical psychology as well as political policy for numerous Canadian politicians.
• Co-founding an award-winning homeless advocacy organization called Sandwich for a Story
• Producing documentary videos for an NGO in Uganda
• Co-authoring two academic journal articles on innovative research in medicine

Chatting with inmates (pictured in black and white shirts) at Class 1 State Prison in Jakarta, Indonesia.
 

What is my teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy prioritizes two things:

1. Students’ mental health
   • From my years of experience working with youth experiencing severe mental health issues, I have seen first-hand how learning cannot adequately take place unless students are mentally well enough.
   • Currently, it feels like everyone is scrambling to come up with new ways to help students with their mental health. I have the education and research experience to integrate evidence-backed strategies into the classroom to ensure all students are well enough to learn and thrive.
     
2. Evidence-based education
   • During my experience in Education so far, I have seen far too many teaching strategies based on someone’s feeling that they work. This puzzles me, given the wealth of research we now have on both teaching, learning and behavioural management.
   • As teachers, I believe it is our responsibility always start with evidence-based strategies and techniques, and then adjust these according to individual student needs and classroom dynamics.